The Arts

Candidates know, understand, and use, as appropriate to their own understanding and skills, the

content, functions and achievements of the performing arts (dance, music, theater) and the visual

arts as primary media for communications, inquiry, and engagement among elementary students.

Art is the ability to create and inspire. It does not have limits or rules. Its only

requirement is an imagination. Ultimately art is an opportunity to further student understanding

and ability to express themselves. It is not as simple as drawing or painting but encompasses

many different forms of expression. It includes, but is not limited to drawing, weaving, face

painting, dancing, and singing.

The question of why it is important made me think of Gardner’s theory of Multiple

Intelligences and the many different ways a student can demonstrate achievement and skill. Art

is one more avenue for students to be successful and feel pride in their accomplishments. I

believe it is also a fascinating way to celebrate and introduce diversity into a classroom.

Students are able to study different cultures through their art and “provides a mirror, reflecting

the group’s unique sense of cultural identity.” (Clements & Wachowiak, 2010)

Art can be a significant tool when working with all children when it comes to

communicating and expressing themselves, but especially powerful with those who may have

limitations verbally or emotionally. It can be an opportunity for students to simply share what is

on their minds or in their hearts, a very powerful thing. Finally, I believe art is so important

because it is one more strategy teachers can use to help students learn. It is a great way to

introduce subjects and build their understanding of other content areas. It diversifies the learning

strategies in the classroom and is simply fun.

 Normal development in any subject area can be tough to define and I do not believe art to

be any different. Although you do see a natural sort of progression as a student moves through

the grades and they show specific changes in how they use shape, color, and draw a human

figure. I teach in a multi grade classroom where the ranges of ability and development vary

greatly and I see a definitive shift in the artwork of students between grades two and three. “In

the primary grades, playfulness dominates children’s creative endeavors. But students in the

intermediate grades begin to seek reassurance that what they do is acceptable to others.” (Atwell,

1998) I have created a lesson plan that provides students of all developmental and ability levels

the opportunity to achieve confidence through visual arts. The lesson provides a safe amount of

uniformity for those who find comfort in their creations looking similar to their peers, while still

allowing for freedom of expression and creativity.

Starting in art they very young may scribble, which is similar to their writing

development, but start to develop the ability to specific shapes that are used for multiple objects.

As they grow the students will begin to use more details, and be more conscious and deliberate in

creating more realistic representations. (Clements & Wachowiak, 2010) The lesson plan I’ve

created provides students with the ability to create a variety of rectangles and squares through

drawing multiple horizontal and vertical lines. Focusing on these specific shapes, I believe

allows my students to see similarities in their peers work and that of the artist Piet Mondrian, but

not limit their ability to be unique when painting. It is widely believed that students who are

introduced to art through other content areas, creates a broader and more transferable

understanding of the concepts. (Bickley-Green, 1995)

I was once asked by a good friend, concerned about the remoteness of Adak, if I was

actually gaining any hire-able teaching experience in a classroom of twelve kids. An anecdote in
Differentiation and the Brain, made the argument for me: a veteran teacher with more than

twenty years of experience shared at a conference that she was teaching a multi-grade classroom

for the first time, and someone made the comment to her that it must be quite a change from

what she was used to. The experienced teacher responded, “actually, it really hasn’t been an

adjustment for me. I’ve taught a multi-age classroom every year. But this is just the first time

someone put the sign on my door.” (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011) Differentiation is a constant

goal and I think I’m privileged to have it so clearly defined in my current classroom by grade.

The art lesson I created allows for all students to be successful through differentiation.

Dependent on a student’s fine motor skills, gluing premade black strips horizontally and

vertically will create the same result as an older student who is able to use a ruler and black

marker. Students at varying developmental levels will be able to decide on how many boxes to

paint in red, yellow, or blue based on the roll of dice instead of spending significant time

painstakingly deciding how many to paint and what their neighbor may have chosen.

I have learned a great deal about teaching art to children and best practices through my

course work and that it can be a great motivational tool for learning. Students don’t necessarily

realize all they are learning during an art lesson, but they do and retain it well. It simply seems

like fun, and what a brilliant thought—learning is fun! Most importantly I have learned that art

should be approached as other content areas are, with objectives and assessments and that these

should be well thought out and written as a lesson plan. As a classroom teacher I have always

approached art as a fill in or specific craft. It was not necessarily used to further learning or

introduce new information and now I see the need for this kind of intentional teaching in art.

Finally, being reminded of the real need to integrate art into other content areas. It only furthers

student learning and engagement in their learning.

 I believe the two most important things for young people to learn in K-8 art curriculum

are the power of expression and the experience of success. Students need a creative outlet that

allows them to express themselves without fear or judgment. They also need the chance to

experience success in art. As confidence wanes in art ability as students mature, instilling in

them from the very beginning that they are worthwhile and so are there creations is vital.

Art is a necessary component in any classroom for fostering student creativity and

confidence. This course has reminded me of the power I have as a teacher to influence students

and their lifelong appreciation for art.

Lesson Plan Format

Alaska Standard: Alaska Standard C

Examine historical and contemporary works of art, the works of

peers, and the student’s own works as follows: identify the piece;

describe the use of basic elements; analyze the use of basic

principles; interpret meaning and artist’s intent; and express and

defend an informed opinion.

Topic: Piet Mondrian and Primary Colors

Grade/Age Level: K-5 Number of Students: 8

Setting for the Lesson: Classroom

Methodology: Demonstration, art activity

Objective(s): Student Assessment:

 The student will be able to identify The student will be able to name or list the

primary colors and Piet Mondrian’s primary colors.

modern art.
The student will create an art piece inspired

by Piet Mondrian’s work.

Art Elements Artist Connection

Shape, Color Piet Mondrian and his work with primary

colors and geometric shapes.

Connections to Curriculum

This can be connected to math in identifying geometric shapes and using a ruler.

Materials: List all materials used, including technology.

White paper, red, yellow, blue and black markers and paint, paintbrushes, rulers, pencils, dice

Materials will be handed out as needed and collected immediately following. Student helpers

will help pass out the materials.

Activities: What will the teacher and children do to address the objectives?

Introduction

Show students a clip of “Guess That Shape and Color”, a Sesame Street video where Papa

Bear and Baby Bear visit the Museum of Modern Art and look at the works of Piet

Mondrian. Introduce students to Piet Mondrian and examples of his work. Discuss what his

works have in common. Introduce the term primary colors.

 Learning Activities

Students will be given blank sheets of white paper and told they will be creating their own

Mondrian inspired art piece. Demonstrate horizontal and vertical lines on the whiteboard.

Students will then use a ruler to create their lines. They may use a black marker or paint to

fill in the lines or trace them. Students will then look at examples of his work again. While

we wait for paint to dry a bit, discuss Mondrian’s minimal use of color (not every inch is

colored but there is white left in his paintings). Review with students the colors he uses and

identify them as primary colors. Students will then choose again between paint and marker

and fill in their space with primary colors. Allow artwork to dry if needed.

Closure

Practice reflecting on peer work. Each art piece will be hung in the classroom and students will

have a few minutes to walk around and observe each other’s work. Then as a group we will go

through each art piece and students will identify something they “like” about each one. I will ask

that students try to use the words color or shape in their statement.

Differentiation for special learners:

The lesson can be broken down into parts to allow for students who need movement breaks to

leave and come back to their project. There will be multi-sized paintbrushes and markers for

students depending on their motor skills. Assistance will be provided for any student who needs

help with a ruler and drawing horizontal and vertical lines. Only primary colors will be made

available to students in order to ensure their understanding of what colors those are. Students

will have the option of rolling a die to determine how many red, yellow, and blue spaces will be

colored in. If a student needs extra time to complete the lesson, they may simply work until they
are done. If a student completes the lesson early they will have free drawing time and asked to

think of other patterns they can create and only use primary colors.

Reflection

The children did meet the objective I set for them. Each student created an original piece of

Mondrian inspired modern art and could identify the three primary colors when they completed

the lesson. Student engagement was high in this lesson, which made it all the more effective.

Students enjoyed the initial video and could really see the similarities between their piece of art

and Mondrian’s that hangs in the museum, powerful stuff! The simplicity of the lesson and the

art made every student feel successful and I think that is important in primary art.

I think the lesson could have been improved by looking for a better way to create the black

horizontal and vertical lines. Many students struggled with drawing them and I was prepared for

that and had pre-made sheets with the lines after students at least attempted the process, but even

filling in the lines or tracing them was difficult for some. I think a better idea may have been to

cut out some strips of black construction paper and had students fit them to their sheet

horizontally and vertically. It would have added some texture to their pieces and allowed them

to have a bit more ownership.

Something unexpected that turned out brilliantly was the introduction of dice to this project. I

had added them to the lesson for some of my special needs students who may be less likely to

color more than one rectangle or square if simply asked. It was my thought that they would pick

a primary color and then roll the die to determine how many rectangles or squares were colored
in and they determined where. Well, the other students saw this process and a lot of them

requested the chance to roll too. It was just a fun addition to the lesson and the individuality of

the piece remained as students choose the location of their colored squares or rectangles.

When I teach the lesson again, I will provide the option of gluing on the horizontal and vertical

lines to their blank sheet. I also think introducing the dice as part of the lesson would only

increase the engagement of students. I later found a primary colors song online that I would

consider using as a closing the next time I teach this lesson, just to solidify student understanding

of primary colors.

Examples of the children’s art:

This student nearly met the objectives. He is capable of identifying the primary colors with ease,

but he did fill in some of the rectangles with black. My comment to him was that I liked how he

had so many different sized rectangles and squares.

This student fully met the objectives. She was able to identify the primary colors and had several

different sized rectangles and squares. I told this student that her work really was comparable to

Mondrian’s as it had sparse but effective use of color.

This student effectively met the objectives. He is able to identify the primary colors and created

great horizontal and vertical lines. I told him I really liked how much color he had in his work,

even just using primary colors it looks bright.

Bibliography
Atwell, N. (1998). In the Middle: New Understandings About Writing, Reading, and Learning.
Portsmouth: Boynton/Cook Publishers, Inc.
Bickley-Green, C. A. (1995). Math and Art Curriculum Integration: A Post-Modern Foundation.
Studies in Art Education, 6-18.
Clements, R. D., & Wachowiak, F. (2010). Emphasis Art. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.
Sousa, D. A., & Tomlinson, C. A. (2011). Differentiation and the Brain. Bloomington: Solution
Tree Press.